Hart 

Memoir  of  the  Life  and  Services 
of  colonel  John 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 


COMMODORE  BYRON  MCCANDLESS 


COLONEL  JOHN  NIXON 


Maine  JKsforieal  Soeiete. 

u  / 


PRESENTED   BY 


WITHDRAWN. 


> 


FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  PICTURE  BY  GILBERT  STUART. 


MEMOIR 


LIFE  AND  SERVICES 


COLONEL  JOHN   NIXON 


PREPARED  AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE 

RESTORATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  HALL  FOR  "THE 

NATIONAL  CENTENNIAL  COMMEMORATION"  OF 

JULY  2,  1776 

AND  PRESENTED  AT  THE  MEETING  IN  INDEPENDENCE  CHAMBER, 
SATURDAY  JULY  1,  1876 


BY 

CHARLES  HENRY  HART 


[Reprinted  from  "The  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography"] 


PHILADELPHIA 
1877 


COLLINS,     PRINTER. 


E 
FM-A/fc 


TO 

Miss    ELIZABETH    NIXON 

SOLE   SURVIVING   DESCENDANT    OF 

COLONEL  JOHN  NIXON 


THIS    MEMOIR    OF    HER    GRANDFATHER 


WITH  AFFECTION  AND  RESPECT 

BY 
THE  AUTHOR 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL. 

PHILADELPHIA,  October  25,  1875. 

To  CHARLES  HENRY  HART,  ESQ. 

SIR:  The  Committee  on  the  Restoration  of  Independence  Hall  have 
resolved  to  invite  the  presence  of  American  Historians,  Biographers,  and 
Literati  at  that  place  on  the  second  day  of  July,  1876.  They  desire  that  a 
Biographical  sketch  of  every  individual,  whose  memory  is  associated  with 
this  Building  during  the  early  days  of  the  Republic,  may  be  prepared  and 
deposited  on  that  day  among  the  Archives  of  the  National  Museum. 

You  are  respectfully  requested  to  be  present  at  Independence  Hall  on 
the  day  above  mentioned,  and  to  bring  with  you  a  sketch  of  the  life  of 

JOHN  NIXON; 

or  in  case  of  a  preference  for  another  subject,  to  communicate  the  fact.     It 
is  desired  that  these  sketches  should  not  exceed  two  pages  of  foolscap. 

With  great  respect, 

FRANK  M.  ETTING, 

Chairman  of  Committee. 


COLONEL  JOHN  NIXON. 

BY  CHARLES  HENRY  HART. 
(Centennial  Collection.) 

When  I  accepted  the  invitation,  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving 
in  October,  1875,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Restoration  of 
Independence  Hall,  to  prepare  a  memoir  of  the  life  of  John 
Nixon  to  be  presented  at  the  meeting  of  American  literati, 
requested  to  assemble  in  Independence  Chamber  on  July 
2,  1876,  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  adoption  of  the 
"  Resolutions  respecting  Independency,"  I  was  doubtful  if  I 
should  be  able  to  fulfil  my  engagement,  so  little  was  known 
of  his  public  services.  That  he  was  a  merchant  highly 
esteemed ;  the  second  president  of  the  Bank  of  North  America, 
and  had  read  and  proclaimed  publicly  to  the  people  for  the 
first  time  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  were  the  only 
prominent  facts  known  even  to  his  descendants.  It  seemed  as 
if  the  limited  "two  pages  of  fool's  cap"  could  not  be  supplied. 
But  careful  and  laborious  investigation  among  published  and 
unpublished  archives,  revealed  incident  after  incident  throwing 
light  upon  his  important  career,  until  at  last  when  the  rough 
material  was  sifted  and  shaped  into  its  present  form,  the  im- 
probable two  pages  had  been  duplicated  a  dozen  times.  It  is 
presented  in  its  extended  size,  so  that  those  who  come  after  us 
may  be  made  fully  acquainted  with  the  life  and  services  of 
one  of  the  country's  early  and  pure  patriots. 

John  Nixon,  who  read  and  proclaimed  publicly  to  the  people 
for  the  "first  time  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1733.  The  exact  date 
of  his  birth  is  uncertain,  but  on  April  17,  1734-35  (0.  S.), 
when  two  years  old,  he  was  baptized  at  Christ  Church  by  the 
rector.  His  father,  Richard  Nixon,  is  believed  to  have  been  a 
native  of  Wexford,  County  Wexford,  Ireland,  but  if  so,  when 
he  came  to  this  country  is  unknown.  That  he  was  a  born 


John  Nixon. 

Irishman  lias  been  sought  to  be  established  from  the  fact  that 
his  son,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was,  as  will  be  seen  later, 
a  member  of  "The  Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick,"  a  social 
society  formed  in  1771,  whose  prerequisite  to  membership  was 
being  descended  from  an  Irish  parent  in  the  first  degree,  or  to 
have  been  a  native  of  Ireland,  or  a  descendant  of  a  former 
member ;  but,  as  a  mother  is  a  parent  as  well  as  a  father,  she 
might  have  been  the  one  of  Celtic  birth  and  not  he.  This 
view  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  there  is  an  heirloom  in 
the  family,  in  the  shape  of  an  old  and  very  large  sea  jj. 
chest  with  these  initials  on  the  top  in  brass  nails,  G.  S. 

1  ftfift 

a  not  uncommon  method  with  the  early  emigrants 
to  this  country  for  denoting  and  memorizing  the  period  of 
their  departure  from  their  homes,  and  the  arrangement  of  the 
letters  would  show  that  the  initial  of  the  surname  was  "  N," 
while  "G"  and  "S"  represented  respectively  the  Christian 
names  of  the  emigrant  husband  and  wife. 

The  earliest  mention  we  have  of  Richard  Nixon  is  the  record 
of  his  marriage  to  Sarah  Bowles  at  Christ  Church,  by  the 
Eev.  Archibald  Cummings,  on  January  7, 1727-28  (0.  S.).  He 
was  a  prominent  merchant  and  shipper,  and  in  1738  purchased 
the  property  on  Front  Street,  below  Pine,  extending  into  the 
Delaware  River,  afterwards  known  for  nearly  a  century  as 
Nixon's  Wharf.  In  1742,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
Common  Council  of  Philadelphia,  which  position  he  continued 
to  hold  until  his  death.  Pending  the  French  and  Spanish 
"War,  which  was  encled  by  the  Peace  of  Aix  La  Chapelle,  con- 
cluded on  the  7th  of  October,  1748,  Franklin  urged  upon  the 
citizens  to  associate  together  for  the  purposes  of  defence,  and 
two  regiments  of  "  Associators"  were  accordingly  formed,  one 
for  the  city  and  the  other  for  the  county,  which  were  divided 
into  companies,  one  for  each  ward  and  township,  and  of  the 
Dock  Ward  Company,  in  the  City  Regiment,  Richard  Nixon 
was  chosen  captain.  The  Dock  Ward  at  this  time  was,  and 
continued  up  to  the  present  century,  the  most  important  and 
influential  ward  in  the  city.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of 
Christ  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  Philadelphia,  and  one  of 
the  vestrymen  during  the  years  1745,  1746,  and  1747.  He 


John  Nixon. 

had  four  children,  all  of  whom  were  baptized  there,  and  three 
of  them  who  died  in  infancy  were  buried  in  its  ground,  where 
he  himself  found  a  resting  place  also  on  the  6th  of  December, 
1749  (0.  S.).  His  personal  property  after  his  decease  was 
appraised  at  £20,000,  a  no  inconsiderable  sum  in  those  days. 
His  wife  survived  him  many  years,  dying  July  25, 1785,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty  years,  and  was  buried  at  Christ 
Church,  where  reposed  the  remains  of  her  husband. 

John  Nixon,  the  only  child  who  survived  his  father,  and 
the  subject  of  this  notice,  early  took  a  leading  interest  in 
public  affairs.  In  March,  1756,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three, 
during  the  excitement  of  the  French  "War,  he  was  chosen  by 
a  majority  of  votes  of  the  freemen  of  Dock  "Ward,  Lieutenant 
of  the  Dock  Ward  Company,  "  in  the  stead  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Willing,  the  late  lieutenant  of  said  company,  who  was  pleased 
to  resign  his  commission."  This  company  was  a  sort  of  home 
guard,  and  doubtless  the  same  as  the  one  formed  in  1747, 
of  which  his  father  was  the  first  captain.  He  succeeded  to 
the  business  of  his  father,  at  the  old  place  on  Front  Street, 
with  Nixon's  wharf  in  the  rear,  adjoining  the  warehouses  of 
Willing  &  Morris,  the  most  considerable  merchants  in  the 
province  or  indeed  in  the  colonies.  His  first  transaction  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge  is  one  which,  with  the  light 
of  modern  ideas,  is  not  calculated  to  be  looked  upon  with 
favor.  We  find  him  in  March,  1761,  with  Willing,  Morris,  & 
Co.,  and  other  prominent  merchants  of  the  city,  signing  and 
presenting  to  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  a  remonstrance 
to  a  petition  that  had  been  presented  the  previous  month  by 
citizens  of  Philadelphia  against  the  importation  of  slaves,  and 
in  consequence  of  which  a  bill  had  been  prepared  laying  a  duty 
of  £10  per  head  on  each  negro  brought  from  abroad.  The 
importers,  in  their  remonstrance  to  the  bill,  represented  that 
the  province  was  suffering  great  inconvenience  for  want  of 
servants,  and  "  an  advantage  may  be  gained  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  slaves,  which  will  likewise  be  a  means  of  reducing  the 
exorbitant  price  of  labor  and  in  all  probabilities  bring  our 
commodities  to  their  usual  prices."  They  represent  that  they 
have  "embarked  in  the  trade"  of  importing  negroes  'through 


John  Nixon. 

the  motives  they  have  mentioned,  and  that  they  will  lahor 
under  great  hardships  by  the  law  taking  immediate  effect 
without  giving  them  time  to  countermand  their  orders.  This 
protest,  however,  had  no  effect  upon  the  Quaker  House,  for 
the  law  to  lay  a  duty  on  negroes  was  passed  within  two  weeks. 

The  next  important  mercantile  transaction,  however,  with 
which  we  find  him  connected,  was  one  of  a  far  different 
character,  as  it  joined  him  with  the  destinies  of  his  native 
land  in  its  conflict  with  the  mother  country.  After  much 
agitation  in  the  Colonies  over  their  proposed  taxation  by 
Great  Britain,  the  fatal  Stamp  Act  was  finally  passed  in 
March,  1765,  with  the  provision  that  it  should  not  go  into 
effect  until  the  first  of  the  following  November.  Meetings 
were  held  in  every  town  and  village  in  the  land,  protesting 
against  this  outrage  upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  Colo- 
nists as  British  freemen,  and  petitions  were  promptly  prepared 
and  forwarded  by  trusty  agents  to  the  home  government 
urging  its  repeal.  But  it  was  left  for  the  merchants  of  the 
land  to  make  the  hated  act  nugatory  in  its  purpose,  and  the 
first  step  towards  this  end  was  taken  by  the  merchants  of 
Philadelphia,  who,  in  public  meeting,  pledged  to  each  other 
their  honors  not  to  receive,  sell,  or  import  any  goods  or  mer- 
chandise from  Great  Britain  until  the  iniquitous  Stamp  Act 
should  be  repealed.  This  "  NON-IMPORTATION  AGREEMENT," 
bearing  date  October  25 , 1 765  ,J  was  subscribed  by  three  hundred 
and  seventy-five  importers  and  shop-keepers,  and  prominent 
among  the  signatures  appears  the  large  bold  one  of  JOHN 
NIXON. 

The  story  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and  the  subse- 
quent imposition  of  a  tax  on  tea,  etc. ;  followed  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  tea  in  Boston  harbor,  and  the  Boston  Port  Bill, 

1  Since  the  preceding  was  written,  investigations  have  shown  this  date  to 
be  an  error.  The  agreement  itself  bears  no  date,  except  that  placed  on  it 
in  lead  pencil  by  Mr.  Thomas  Bradford  at  the  age  of  ninety,  and  seventy 
years  after  the  event  took  place.  Lately  discovered  contemporary  evidence 
points  clearly  to  November  7,  1765,  as  the  day  on  which  the  meeting  of 
merchants  was  held,  and  these  non-importation  resolutions  agreed  to. —  Vide 
Mag.  Amer.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  June,  1877. 


John  Nixon. 

are  too  familiar  to  permit  of  repetition  here,  but  they  kept 
the  Colonies  in  a  state  of  constant  ferment,  and  in  no  place 
was  this  more  the  case  than  in  Philadelphia,  where  in  all  the 
measures  of  these  trying  times  John  Kixon  took  an  active 
part.  The  inhabitants  of  Boston,  being  anxious  to  know  how 
far  they  would  be  sustained  by  other  portions  of  the  Colonies 
in  their  effort  to  withstand  the  tyranny  of  the  British  Crown, 
sent  Paul  Revere  to  Philadelphia  with  a  circular  letter,  dated 
May  13, 1774,  requesting  the  advice  of  the  citizens  of  Phila- 
delphia upon  the  bill  closing  the  Port  of  Boston.  Imme- 
diately upon  its  receipt  on  May  20th,  a  town  meeting  was 
called,  and  held  at  the  City  Tavern,  and  resolutions  were 
passed  appointing  a  committee  of  correspondence,  with  direc- 
tions to  answer  the  letter  from  Boston,  and  assure  the  people 
of  that  town  "  that  we  truly  feel  for  their  unhappy  situation, 
and  that  we  consider  them  as  suffering  in  the  general  cause." 
Of  this  committee  Mr.  inxon  was  a  member,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  met  a  portion  of  the  committee,  who  prepared, 
signed,  and  sent  "  The  letter  from  the  Committee  of  the  City 
of  Philadelphia  to  the  Committee  of  the  City  of  Boston," 
which  contained  the  key-note  of  the  Revolution  in  these 
words :  "  It  is  not  the  value  of  the  tax,  but  the  indefeasible 
right  of  giving  and  granting  our  own  money  (A  RIGHT  FROM  WHICH 
WE  CAN  NEVER  RECEDE),  that  is  the  question." 

On  the  18th  of  June  a  meeting  of  citizens  was  held  in  the 
State  House  Yard,  at  which  Thomas  "Willing  and  John  Dick- 
inson presided,  when  it  was  resolved  that  the  Act  closing  the 
Port  of  Boston  was  unconstitutional,  and  that  it  was  expedient 
to  convene  a  Continental  Congress.  A  committee  of  corre- 
spondence was  appointed,  directed  to  ascertain  the  sense  of 
the  people  of  the  province  with  regard  to  the  appointment  of 
deputies  to  a  general  Congress,  and  to  institute  a  subscription 
for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  in  Boston.  Mr.  luxon  was  made 
the  third  member  of  this  committee,  the  first  and  chairman 
being  John  Dickinson.  The  authority  of  the  committee  being 
doubtful,  they  recommended  that  at  the  next  general  election 
a  new  permanent  committee  should  be  regularly  chosen,  which 
was  accordingly  done,  and  he  was  again  duly  returned.  He 


John  Nixon. 

was  a  deputy  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Province, 
which  met  at  Carpenters'  Hall,  July  15, 1774,  and  remained 
in  session  until  the  22d?  with  Thomas  Willing  in  the  chair  and 
Charles  Thomson  for  its  clerk.  The  important  action  of  this 
body  was  the  adoption  of  resolutions  condemning  in  strong 
terms  the  recent  acts  of  Parliament,  and  recommending  the 
calling  of  a  congress  of  delegates  from  the  different  colonies. 
Mr.  Nixon  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  Convention  for  the 
Province  of  Pennsylvania,  held  at  Philadelphia  from  the  23d 
to  the  28th  of  January,  1775,  which,  among  other  things, 
unanimously  endorsed  and  approved  the  conduct  and  proceed- 
ings of  the  late  Continental  Congress — the  famous  first  Con- 
gress of  September  5, 1774. 

The  open  strife  between  the  mother  country  and  her 
colonies  had  now  fairly  begun,  and  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1775,  the  first  conflict  of  the  Revolution  took  place  at  Lexing- 
ton and  Concord.  It  was  not  until  the  night  of  April  24th 
that  the  intelligence  of  these  fights  reached  Philadelphia,  and 
the  sensation  caused  by  the  news  was  intense.  A  meeting 
was  held  in  the  State  House  Yard,  at  which  it  was  computed 
that  eight  thousand  people  were  present.  One  brief  resolution 
was  passed,  in  effect  that  the  persons  present  would  "associate 
together  to  defend  with  AKMS"  their  property,  liberty,  and  lives 
against  all  attempts  to  deprive  them  of  their  enjoyment.  The 
committee  of  correspondence  elected  the  previous  autumn  be- 
came in  this  emergency  an  authority  not  contemplated  at  its 
formation.  The  members  entered  at  once  upon  the  task,  and 
desired  that  all  persons  having  arms  should  give  notice,  so 
that  they  might  be  disposed  of  to  those  wishing  them.  The 
"Associators"  immediately  began  to  enroll  themselves  into 
companies,  and  drills  were  held  daily,  and  sometimes  twice  in 
the  day.  The  companies  were  formed  into  three  battalions ; 
and  the  "  Third  Battalion  of  Associators,"  consisting  of  about 
five  hundred  men,  and  known  as  the  "  Silk  Stockings,"  was 
officered  by  John  Cadwalader,  Colonel ;  JOHN  NIXON,  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel ;  Thomas  Mifflin  and  Samuel  Meredith,  Majors. 
The  first  known  appearance  of  these  "Associators"  in  public 
was  early  in  May,  when  the  officers  met  the  southern  dele- 


John  Nixon. 

gates  to  the  Continental  Congress  about  two  miles  from  town, 
and  escorted  them  into  the  city.  A  few  days  later  a  similar 
compliment  was  paid  to  the  delegates  from  the  Eastern  States. 
Samuel  Curwen,  the  loyalist,  who  was  in  Philadelphia  at  the 
time,  has  preserved  an  account  of  this  reception  in  his  diary. 
He  writes :  "  The  cavalcade  appeared  first,  two  or  three 
hundred  gentlemen  on  horseback,  preceded  by  the  newly 
chosen  city  military  officers,  two  and  two,  with  drawn  swords, 
followed  by  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams  in  a  phaeton 
and  pair."  The  Congress  duly  met  on  Tuesday,  May  10th, 
and  on  the  15th  of  June,  upon  the  motion  of  Thomas  John- 
son, Jr.,  of  Maryland,  George  Washington  was  chosen  unani- 
mously Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  raised  and  to  be 
raised,  and  his  first  appearance  in  public  in  his  military 
capacity  was  made  five  days  later,  when  upon  the  commons 
near  Centre  Square  he  reviewed  the  City  Associators,  number- 
ing about  two  thousand  men.  On  the  following  day  he  set 
out  for  Cambridge,  escorted  for  some  distance  by  the  City 
Troops. 

A  "  Committee  of  Safety  for  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania" 
having  been  appointed  by  the  Assembly  in  June,  1775,  John 
Nixon  was  made  a  member  on  its  reorganization,  October  20, 
1775,  and  continued  an  active  and  prominent  member  of  the 
body  until  its  dissolution,  July  22,  1776,  on  the  formation  of 
the  Council  of  Safety  with  David  Rittenhouse  at  its  head, 
and  out  of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  meetings  which 
were  held  between  October  20, 1775,  and  July  22, 1776,  he  is 
recorded  as  being  present  at  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven. 
Of  this  Committee  of  Safety,  Franklin  was  President  and 
Robert  Morris  Yice-President,  but,  owing  to  their  being 
absent  so  often  from  the  meetings  by  reason  of  other  public 
duties,  application  was  made  to  the  Assembly  for  authority 
to  choose  a  chairman  pro  tern,  at  any  time  when  there  was  a 
quorum,  and  the  president  and  vice-president  absent,  which 
was  granted,  and  under  this  authority  Mr.  Nixon  was  chosen 
the  first  chairman,  November  20,  and  at  all  subsequent  meet- 
ings, when  he  was  present  and  the  president  and  vice-president 
absent,  he  was  selected  to  fill  the  chair.  He  was  Chairman 


John  Nixon. 

of  the  Committee  on  Accounts,  and  all  orders  for  the  payment 
of  money  for  public  purposes  were  drawn  upon  him.  In 
May,  1776,  upon  information  being  received  that  the  enemy's 
vessels  were  coming  up  the  Delaware,  he  was  requested  by 
the  committee  to  go  down  to  Fort  Island  and  take  charge  of 
the  defences  there,  and  in  July,  he  was  placed  in  command 
of  the  guard  ordered  to  be  kept  in  the  city,  which  was  com- 
posed of  four  companies,  one  from  each  battalion.  It  was  in 
the  month  of  July  also  that  he  performed  that  act  which 
entitles  him  peculiarly  to  a  commemorative  notice  in  this 
centennial  year. 

The  resolution  for  Independence,  which  had  been  offered  in 
Congress  on  the  7th  of  June  by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  was 
finally  adopted  on  ths  2d  of  July,  one  hundred  years  ago,  and 
on  the  following  4th  the  reasons  for  that  Independence  as 
set  forth  in  Jefferson's  immortal  Declaration  were  agreed  to. 
On  the  5th,  which  was  Friday,  Congress  passed  the  following 
resolution : — 

"Resolved,  That  copies  of  the  Declaration  be  sent  to  the 
several  Assemblies,  Conventions  and  Councils  of  Safety,  and 
to  the  several  commanding  officers  of  the  Continental  Troops, 
that  it  be  proclaimed  in  each  of  the  United  States,  and  at  the 
Head  of  the  Army." 

A  copy  of  this  resolution  was  sent  the  next  day  by  the 
President  of  Congress  to  the  Committee  of  Safety,  whereupon 
it  was 

"Ordered,  That  the  Sheriff  of  Philad'a  read  or  cause  to  be 
read  and  proclaimed  at  the  State  House,  in  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia, on  Monday  the  Eighth  day  of  July  instant  at  12 
O'clock  at  noon  of  the  same  day  the  Declaration  of  the  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  Colonies  of  America,  and  that  he 
cause  all  his  officers  and  the  Constables  of  the  said  city  to 
attend  the  reading  thereof. 

"Resolved,  That  every  member  of  this  Committee  in  or 
near  the  city  be  ordered  to  meet  at  12  O'clock  on  Monday  to 
proceed  to  the  State  House  where  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence is  to  be  proclaimed." 

The  chronicler,  Christopher  Marshall,  records  a  "warm  sun- 


John  Nixon. 

shine  morning"  for  Monday,  July  the  Eighth.  The  Committee 
of  Inspection  met  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  Hall  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Society  on  Second  Street,  and  went  in  a  body  to  the 
Lodge,  where  they  joined  the  Committee  of  Safety.  The  two 
committees  then  went  in  procession  to  the  State  House,  where, 
standing  on  the  platform  of  the  observatory  which  had  been 
erected  by  the  American  Philosophical  Society  to  observe  the 
transit  of  Yenus,  June  3, 1769,  JOHN  NIXON  READ  AND  PRO- 
CLAIMED, to  a  great  concourse  of  people,  in  a  voice  clear  and 
distinct  enough  to  be  heard  in  the  garden  of  Mr.  Norris's 
house  on  the  east  side  of  Fifth  Street,  THE  DECLARATION  OF 
INDEPENDENCE  PUBLICLY  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME.  It  is  recorded 
that  it  was  received  with  heart-felt  satisfaction,  and  that  the 
company  declared  their  approval  by  their  repeated  huzzas. 
Thomas  Dewees  was  at  this  time  Sheriff  of  Philadelphia,  and 
as  he  had  the  alternative  of  reading  it  himself  or  causing  it  to 
be  read,  Mr.  Nixon  was  selected,  doubtless  from  his  prominence 
as  a  citizen  and  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety. 
There  is  now  deposited  in  Independence  Hall  a  broadside  copy 
of  the  Declaration,  printed  at  the  time,  which  was  found 
among  some  papers  of  John  Nixon,  and  is  possibly  the  very 
one  from  which  he  read  and  proclaimed  it  on  the  eighth  of 
July,  1776. 

Towards  the  close  of  July,  the  Philadelphia  Associators 
were  called  into  active  service.  New  Jersey  was  threatened, 
and  the  several  battalions  marched  to  Amboy  in  its  defence. 
Their  service  lasted  about  six  weeks,  when  they  returned  to 
the  city,  and  remained  until  December,  when  they  were  called 
for  again,  this  time  to  serve  immediately  under  the  com- 
mander-in-chief.  At  "Washington's  suggestion  all  the  Asso- 
ciators of  the  City  and  Liberties  were  formed  into  one  brigade 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Cadwalader,  whereupon  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Nixon  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  third 
battalion,  and  on  the  10th,  the  city  troops,  twelve  hundred 
strong,  were  in  full  march  for  Trenton.  "Washington,  hi  writ- 
ing to  the  President  of  Congress  from  Trenton  Falls,  under 
date  of  December  13,  1776,  says :  "  Cadwalader-  with  the 
Philadelphia  militia  occupies  the  ground  above  and  below 


John  Nixon. 

the  mouth  of  Neshaminy  River  as  far  down  as  Bunks'  Ferry, 
at  which  place  Colonel  Nixon  is  posted  with  the  Third  Bat- 
talion of  Philadelphia."  Here  Washington  directed  redoubts 
to  be  thrown  up,  and,  if  the  enemy  attempted  to  cross,  a  stand 
was  ordered  to  be  made  against  them,  and  on  the  22d,  he 
issued  an  order  to  Cadwalader  specifying  "  Colonel  Nixon's 
regiment  to  continue  where  it  is  at  Dunks'  Ferry."  This  ferry 
was  the  important  post  to  guard  on  the  Delaware,  as  it  was 
fordable,  and  it  was  the  point  assigned  for  the  crossing  of  one 
body  of  the  troops  on  Christmas  night  to  attack  Donop  and 
the  Hessians  near  Mount  Holly,  while  Washington  crossed 
higher  up  the  river.  How,  owing  to  the  floating  ice  at  this 
point,  only  a  few  officers  got  across,  and  how  Washington 
took  the  enemy  by  surprise  and  gained  a  signal  victory  over 
them  without  the  aid  of  these  troops,  are  well  known  to  all, 
for  with  this  event  is  connected  one  of  the  much  controverted 
points  in  our  history — the  disaffection  of  Joseph  Reed. 

It  becomes  necessary  to  advert  to  this  subject  in  this  place 
for  the  reason  that  in  the  controversy  which  ensued  between 
Reed  and  Cadwalader,  and  which  called  forth  the  celebrated 
pamphlets  bearing  their  names,  Colonel  Nixon  was  an  actor. 
On  page  24  of  General  Cadwalader's  "Reply  to  General  Joseph 
Reed's  Remarks,"  appears  this  certificate : — 

"  I  do  hereby  certify  that  in  December,  1776,  while  the 
militia  lay  at  Bristol,  General  Reed,  to  the  best  of  my  recol- 
lection and  belief,  upon  my  enquiring  the  news,  and  what  he 
tho't  of  our  affairs  in  general,  said  that  appearances  were  very 
gloomy  and  unfavorable ; — that  he  was  fearful  or  apprehensive 
the  business  was  nearly  settled,  or  the  game  almost  up,  or 
words  to  that  effect.  That  these  sentiments  appeared  to  me 
very  extraordinary  and  dangerous,  as  I  conceived,  they  would, 
at  that  time,  have  a  very  bad  tendency,  if  publicly  known  to 
be  the  sentiments  of  General  Reed,  who  then  held  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  army  of  the  first  consequence. 

JOHN  NIXON. 

Philadelphia,  March  12,  1783." 

14 


John  Nixon. 

That  Joseph  Reed  at  this  time  contemplated  transferring 
his  allegiance  from  the  Continental  Congress  to  the  British 
King  the  light  of  historical  research  leaves  no  room  for  doubt. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  1777,  the  time  limited  to  accept  the 
privileges  of  Howe's  proclamation  would  expire,  and  if  the 
Battle  of  Trenton  had  proved  a  defeat  to  "Washington  instead 
of  a  brilliant  victory,  Joseph  Reed  would  have  accepted  its 
provisions  and  committed  openly  the  treason  he  meditated  in 
his  heart.  It  was  Washington's  success  and  not  Reed's 
unswerving  patriotism  that  saved  him.  These  conclusions  at 
least  are  reached  after  a  careful  and  diligent  examination  of 
the  subject  from  all  available  standpoints. 

The  Philadelphia  Associators  remained  with  Washington 
until  late  in  January,  and  took  a  gallant  part  in  the  Battle 
of  Princeton  on  the  second.  In  a  letter  written  by  Reed  to 
Thomas  Bradford  from  head-quarters  at  Morristown,  dated 
January  24, 1777,  he  says :  "  General  Cadwalader  has  conducted 
his  command  with  great  honour  to  himself  and  the  Province, 
all  the  field  officers  supported  their  characters,  their  example 
was  followed  by  the  inferior  officers  and  men,  so  that  they 
have  returned  with  the  thanks  and  praises  of  every  general 
officer  in  the  army.  *  *  *  It  might  appear  invidious  to 
mention  names  where  all  have  behaved  so  well, — but  Colonel 
Morgan,  Colonel  Nixon,  Colonel  Cox,  your  old  gentleman 
[William  Bradford],  and  Majors  Knox  and  Cowperthwaite, 
certainly  ought  not  to  pass  unnoticed  for  their  behaviour  at 
Princeton."  This  campaign  is  the  only  active  service  in 
which  we  know  the  Philadelphia  Associators  to  have  been 
engaged,  except  wintering  at  Valley  Forge  in  1778. 

All  means  of  supplying  the  army  having  failed,  a  new  plan 
was  established  in  the  spring  of  1780  by  the  formation  of  an 
institution  called  "  the  Bank  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  purpose 
of  supplying  the  army  of  the  United  States  with  provisions 
for  two  months."  The  plan  was  that  each  subscriber  should 
give  his  bond  to  the  directors  of  the  bank  for  such  sum  as  he 
thought  proper,  binding  himself  to  the  payment  thereof  in 
specie  in  case  such  payment  should  become  necessary  to  fulfil 
the  engagements  and  discharge  the  notes  or  contracts  of  the 


John  Nixon. 

bank.  The  securities  thus  given  by  ninety-three  persons 
amounted  to  £315,000,  Pennsylvania  money,  Robert  Morris 
and  Blair  McClanachan  being  the  largest  contributors  at 
£10,000  each,  while  John  Nixon  and  many  others  subscribed 
each  £5000.  The  bank  was  opened  July  17, 1780,  in  Front 
Street,  two  doors  above  "Walnut,  and  was  governed  by  two 
directors  and  five  inspectors  ;  the  first  director  being  John 
Nixon  and  the  second  George  Clymer.  The  entire  amount 
secured  was  called  for,  and  the  last  instalment  was  paid  in 
November.  In  May  of  the  following  year  Robert  Morris, 
then  Superintendent  of  Finance,  submitted  to  Congress  "A 
Plan  for  establishing  a  National  Bank  for  the  United  States  of 
North  America,"  and  on  the  31st  of  December, "  The  President, 
Directors,  and  Corporation  of  the  Bank  of  North  America" 
were  incorporated.  This  was  the  first  incorporated  bank  in 
the  United  States ;  and  it  is  of  interest  in  this  connection  and 
may  not  be  generally  known,  that  for  this  reason,  when  the 
National  Banking  Act  of  February  25,  1863,  went  into  opera- 
tion, which  provided  that  all  organized  banks  accepting  its 
provisions  should  adopt  the  word  "  National"  in  their  title, 
the  Bank  of  North  America  was  permitted  specially  to  accept 
the  provisions  of  the  Act  without  changing  its  original  title, 
so  that,  although  a  national  bank,  its  title  is  simply  "  The 
Bank  of  North  America."  Thomas  Willing  was  the  first 
president  of  this  bank;  and  upon  his  appointment  to  the 
presidency  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  on  its  formation, 
Mr.  Nixon,  who  had  served  as  a  director  from  January,  1784, 
was  elected  in  January,  1792,  to  succeed  him,  and  continued 
in  the  office  until  his  death,  on  the  31st  of  December,  1808, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 

Mr.  Nixon  held  many  positions  of  public  and  quasi  public 
importance.  In  January,  1766,  upon  the  Assembly  of  the 
Province  passing  a  bill  for  the  "  Regulation  of  Pilots  plying 
on  the  River  Delaware,"  he  was  selected  with  Abel  James, 
Robert  Morris,  and  three  others  to  officiate  as  Wardens  of  the 
Port  of  Philadelphia ;  and  the  next  year  was  appointed  one 
of  the  signers  of  the  Pennsylvania  Paper  Money,  emitted 
by  authority  of  the  Act  of  May  20,  1767.  In  November, 


John  Nixon. 

1776,  Francis  Hopkinson,  John  Nixon,  and  John  Wharton 
were  constituted  by  Congress  the  Continental  Navy  Board ; 
and  in  December,  1778,  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of 
the  State  confirmed  John  Nixon,  John  Maxwell  Nesbitt,  and 
Benjamin  Fuller  as  a  Committee  to  settle  and  adjust  the 
accounts  of  the  late  Committee  and  Council  of  Safety  ;  while 
in  August  of  the  following  year  he  was  appointed  by  Congress 
one  of  the  Auditors  of  Public  Accounts,  whose  chief  business 
was  to  settle  and  adjust  the  depreciation  of  the  Continental 
Currency. 

He  was  treasurer  of  the  "  Society  for  the  Encouragement 
of  American  Manufactures  and  the  Useful  Arts,"  established 
in  178 7,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  "  Philadelphia  Society 
for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture,"  formed  in  February,  1785. 
In  1789,  upon  the  reorganization  of  the  College,  now  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  elected  one  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees ;  and  in  the  same  year,  under  the  Act  of  March 
11, 1789,  incorporating  "  The  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Cifci^ens 
of  Philadelphia,"  he  was  elected  one  of  the  fifteen  aldermen, 
to  serve  for  seven  years.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
position  of  alderman  at  that  period  was  very  different  from 
the  office  of  the  same  name  at  the  present  day.  Then  it  was 
one  of  honor  and  not  of  reproach,  and  the  duties,  similar  to 
those  of  the  present  select  council,  with  certain  judicial  func- 
tions attached.  In  the  grand  Federal  procession  on  the  4th 
of  July,  1788,  celebrating  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  Mr.  Nixon  represented  INDEPENDENCE  "  on 
horseback,  bearing  the  staff  and  cap  of  Liberty ;  under  the 
cap  a  white  silk  flag,  with  these  words,  'Fourth  of  July, 
1776,'  in  large  gold  letters." 

Mr.  Nixon  was  a  man  fond  of  social  enjoyment,  and  as  early 
as  1760  was  a  member  of  the  celebrated  Fish  House, — "  The 
Colony  in  Schuylkill,"  and  in  1763,  we  find  him  one  of  the 
Mount  Regale  Fishing  Company,  which  met  at  Robinson's 
Tavern,  Falls  of  Schuylkill,  every  other  Thursday  from  June 
to  October,  and  was  composed  wholly  of  men  of  wealth 
and  fashion — the  leaders  of  Society  in  that  day-;— as  may  be 
seen  from  the  names  of  Shippen,  Chew,  Hamilton,  Francis, 


John  Nixon. 

McCall,  Lawrence,  Swift,  Tilghman,  Allen,  Hopkinson,  "Will- 
ing, Morris,  and  Nixon.  He  was  also  an  original  member 
of  "  The  Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick"  composed  of  persons 
having  Irish  blood,  and  was  present  at  the  famous  dinner 
given  to  Washington  on  New  Year's  day,  1782.  To  the 
Pennsylvania  Hospital  he  was  an  early  and  repeated  con- 
tributor, and  served  as  one  of  the  managers  from  1768  to 
1772. 

After  the  reorganization  of  the  land  office  in  1792,  Mr. 
Nixon  purchased  largely  of  lands  in  the  outlying  counties 
of  the  State  which,  like  most  of  such  adventures,  proved 
unsuccessful.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was  the  senior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Nixon,  Walker,  &  Co.,  shipping  mer- 
chants, composed  of  himself,  his  only  son  Henry  Nixon,  and 
Mr.  David  Walker.  His  residence  was  on  Pine  Street  below 
Third  Street,  adjoining  that  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Blackwell, 
Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  while  Fairfield  on  the  Ridge 
Road,  immediately  north  of  Peel  Hall  the  site  of  the  present 
Girard  College,  was  his  country  seat.  Mr.  Nixon  was  married, 
October,  1765,  in  New  York,  to  Elizabeth,  eldest  child  of 
George  and  Jane  [Currie]  Davis,  and  had  five  children,  four 
daughters  and  one  son ;  Mary,  wife  of  Francis  West ;  Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  Erick  Bollman ;  Sarah,  wife  of  William  Cra- 
mond ;  Jane,  wife  of  Thomas  Mayne  Willing ;  and  Henry, 
who  married  Maria,  youngest  daughter  of  the  Honorable 
Robert  Morris.  Mrs.  Nixon  died  August  31,  1795,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-eight,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Peter's  Church-yard, 
at  the  corner  of  Third  and  Pine  Streets,  Philadelphia,  where 
she  reposes  in  the  same  grave  with  her  husband. 

In  appearance,  Mr.  Nixon  was  a  fine,  portly  man,  with  a 
noticeably  handsome,  open  countenance,  as  may  be  seen  from 
his  portrait  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  painted  late  in  life,  in  posses- 
sion of  his  grandson,  Mr.  Henry  Cramond.1  His  manners  were 
dignified  and  rather  reserved,  while  he  was  noted  for  kindness 
of  heart,  high  sense  of  honor,  sterling  integrity,  and  firmness 

1  A  miniature  painted  by  Peale  in  1772  is  in  possession  of  his  grand- 
daughter Miss  West. 


John  Nixon. 

of  decision.  In  the  early  days  of  the  revolutionary  struggle, 
Mr.  Nixon  shared  the  conservative  views  of  his  fellow  towns- 
men and  copatriots  Robert  Morris,  Thomas  Willing,  and 
John  Dickinson,  but  after  the  edict  of  separation  had  been 
announced,  none  were  more  eager  or  earnest  in  the  cause. 
He  was  a  strenuous  opponent  of  the  old  constitution  of  the 
State,  and  a  firm  adherent  of  the  party  formed  to  effect  its 
change.  The  closing  item  of  his  will  shows  the  sentiments 
of  the  man  better  than  any  other  words  can  portray  them. 
"  Having  now  my  children  disposed  of  my  estate  in  a  manner 
that  I  hope  will  be  agreeable  to  you  all,  I  request  and  earnestly 
recommend  to  you  to  live  together  in  terms  of  the  purest  love 
and  most  perfect  friendship,  being  fully  pursuaded  that  your 
happiness  and  that  of  your  respective  families  will,  in  a  great 
measure,  depend  on  this.  These  are  my  last  words  to  you, 
and  I  trust  that  you  will  have  them  in  particular  and  long 
remembrance." 


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